Cole Cooney
1) Fleetwood Mac – Rumours 45 RPM reissue: I’ll take any reason to put Rumours on a year-end best of list. Best record of always.

2) Bill Callahan – Apocalypse: His best record since “A River Ain’t Too Much to Love” shows a fine example of Bill doing what he does- well-timed, minimal arrangements and the dense lyricism that alternates between sardonic and piercingly poignant, all with that familiar stoic baritone delivery.

Kevin Hein
Full lengths, in no particular order..
HTRK- Work (Work, Work)- Distorted 808 beats, deep bass grooves, and a drugged-up sounding female vocalist create music that is depressingly pretty.
The Caretaker- An Empty Bliss Beyond This World- Leyland Kirby is at it again, sampling and reprocessing old 78 records into his own creation. While his last record focused on repetition, this one dives into slightly different territory by focusing on abrupt starts and stops and the space between them.
Leyland Kirby- Eager To Tear Apart The Stars- Not released under his usual Caretaker moniker, this record is less about his reprocessed 78’s shtick, focusing more on his own minimal ambient compositions. More subdued, but still beautiful.
Tim Hecker- Ravedeath, 1972- Shimmering, icy, glacial drones. One can easily get lost in it’s layers, and every listening experience seems to be different.
Ringo Deathstarr- Colour Trip- Comes off sounding like a mixture of My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain, this album blends the 90s shoegaze aesthetic with modern production techniques. Noise pop at its catchiest.
Ringo Deathstarr- Sparkler- A compilation of their pre-Colour Trip EPs, more catchy noise pop in the vein of Jesus and Mary Chain.
My Violent Ego- Some Day You’ll Laugh At The Sad Saga That Was..- A compilation of hard-to-find EPs by a duo who create shimmering ethereal pop in the vein of My Bloody Valentine. Haunting female vocals over swirling, warping guitars.
Cold Cave- Cherish The Light Years- Extremely catchy 80’s New Order-esque synth-pop. These riffs will get stuck in your head for days.
Jamie XX and Gil Scott Heron- We’re New Here- Jamie XX remixes Gil Scott Heron’s last album (RIP) in its entirety, surpassing the original.
Sepalcure- Sepalcure- Full length debut from the duo of Machinedrum and Praveen/Braile. Generally less organic sounding than the preceding EPs, this record is aimed at the dance floor.
Wagon Christ- Toomorow- Another classic-sounding mash of samples from Luke Vibert’s long-running Wagon Christ moniker.
Laurel Halo- Hour Logic- Synth-worship from the biggest babe of the Hippos In Tanks crew.
Daedelus- Bespoke- Monome master Daedelus presents us with his version of a pop record. The old-timey samples are still here, amidst a clustered production of dusty drum rolls and heavy bass, but this time featuring a guest vocalist on almost every track.
FaltyDL- You Stand Uncertain- New York producer Drew Lustman attempts to create a “timeless” electronic record by combining all of his influences in one bucket. Boards of Canada-esque detuned analog synths, 90s rave stabs, jungle/D’n’B breaks, and UK Garage drum patterns shine through amidst dusty layered samples. This is the sound of a producer who has been working hard honing his craft, and has developed an instantly recognizable sound which deserves more attention.
Machinedrum- Room(s)- Electronic veteran machinedrum has mastered almost all genres of dance music and decides to crank up the BPM to the 160 range. This release brings footwork/juke music to a new level, going heavy on auto-tuned vocal samples with hints of UK Garage drum patterns. He’s still using the same chord progressions and scales, but the beats are more forward thinking.
Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica- Daniel Lopatin bought $100 worth of 80’s TV commercial compilation DVDs for sampling, and this is the result. Weird, repetitive sound clips swim amongst his trademark Juno 60 synth-drones.
Martyn- Ghost People- A fine addition to Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder crew, Martyn tries his hand at techno. Sounding entirely different from his previous releases, the unfolding layers of repetition are still here, but pack a harder punch.
Zomby- Dedication- This second full length (as well as debut on 4AD) from this masked london producer sounds less like an album and more like a collection of songs, but no one’s complaining here. Minimal 8-bit blips and bleeps over dark, brooding beats.

EPs
Zomby- Nothing- Zomby revisits his love of the 90’s rave sound originally explored on Where Were You In ’92, combining it with the minimal production aesthetic displayed on his Dedication LP.
Burial- Street Halo EP- The master returns to work (finally) and gives us another three track teaser of his trademark crackle-y dark textures over broken UK Garage beats. Before you knock or dismiss this man’s music, remember that Burial’s output is made entirely by cutting and pasting samples by ear, no sequencer or grid involved.
Blawan- Bohla EP- Blawan takes his tribal pounding bass groove to the next level by throwing in a Roland TB-303. Neo-acid house at its best.
FaltyDL- Mean Streets Part 1 EP- FaltyDL expands on the genre-bending sound established on You Stand Uncertain. This man has established a sound, and this release sounds so undeniably FaltyDL.
Machinedrum- Sacred Frequency EP- A teaser for his Room(s) LP, this EP contains more future-juke tracks that don’t appear on the full-length.
Sepalcure- Fleur EP- A beautiful collage of samples, each layer unfolding like a flower to reveal new timbres and patterns. Earthy organic textures, female vocal samples, and dusty neon synths float in and fold over a cluster of woodblocks, bells, and metallic clanks. Heavily influenced by the current crop of future garage producers, Fleur takes off where the Sepalcure EP left off, managing to be forward thinking while still evoking a certain nostalgia.

Taylor Brode (Sacred Bones Records, ex-Reckless employee)
Alphabetical as always, this does not include anything on Sacred Bones because that would just be cheating. I didn’t have a lot of time to listen to a lot of albums other than the 23 we released this year but the few that got through to me (3 LP’s in total), really deeply got through.

Cold Cave Cherish the Light Years (Matador)
I give zero fucks about people judging me for loving this band. Wes Eisold has been cutting his heart out and letting his audience crawl inside the hole remaining since we were both teenagers (well since he was a teenager, and I was in my early 20’s), and we are all the better for it. His courage in writing openly about his own psychological shortcomings have in-numerous times given me the courage to acknowledge and address my own. Their live set up which has been stripped down to remove all ironic blonde “goth” women now includes only the other essential songwriter Dominick Fernow, and fantastic drummer Alex Garcia-Rivera. The new line-up allows Wes and Dom the public freedom to become exactly the kind of Pet Shop Boys they have always privately wanted to be. Trust me it’s working for them. I threw my underwear at them every night on stage for an entire week this summer and would do it all again in a heartbeat. This band grows light years with each release and I simply could.not.be.more.proud. of them. If you have never seen them you should do yourself a favor next year, and make sure to bring delicates to toss c/o Taylor & Christiana.

E.M.A Past Life Martyred Saints (Souterrain Transmissions)
I have been a huge fan of Erika’s since she was in Gowns, i was at Touch and Go, and I heard the song White Like Heaven. On her 1st solo effort she manages to take all the rawness of that song and add a layer of sexual realness to it so thick it has an aftertaste. Her lyrics touch on everything from narcotic addiction to abusive relationships to eternal love so real it carries through to the next life. Her sense of timing, hook and ability to both create and release tension (sometimes simultaneously) is simply unparalleled in modern music. My boyfriend and I are both recovering addicts and had difficult childhoods (to say the least); we have an extra closet at home where all of our skeletons hang out together actually. We’ve both been working in music since we were teens and we argue vehemently over who’s good and who sucks. Needless to say this album is a household favorite, and the only thing we argue over is who has listened to which track on repeat more times in a row.

Iceage New Brigade (Escho/ Dias)

In an effort to keep up the mystery I am going to attempt to translate this into the band’s native tongue. To put it bluntly: no other punk album has changed me so singularly in the last decade as these four kids’ has. I am not going to bore you with the details of how we came into each others’ lives, instead I am just going to speak in the abstract. This record is about three things: faith, loyalty, and trust. What these young men and their extended family in Denmark have re-taught me in the last year is that if you have faith, loyalty and trust you do not need anything else. Sleep, food, clean clothes, money, etc. –it is all meaningless if you do not have amazing friends in your life. This is not business; this is love.
Stephen Sowley (ex-Reckless employee, Studio manager at Electrical Audio)
No order. 2011: Shelf It.
Bill Orcutt—How The Thing Sings // Tour 7”s (Ill Bill keeps going; I don’t want to know of a world without him)
V/A—Boddie Recording Company: Cleveland, Ohio // Local Customs: Pressed At Boddie (Numero culls the ghosts of a lost DIY era)
The band Leather (Philly behemoths take an archeological dig through your past embarrassments. Full Frontal Jock Shaming. MORE NOW)
Implodes—Black Earth (the dreamiest band in Chicago that refuses to make eye contact with you)
The band Raw Nerve (if they’ve done anything, they’ve proven how Trad H.C. Bobby Hill really was.)
Slices—Modern Bride 7” (the victory anthems for when Roethlisberger blows his knee out.)
Fantasia In Best Show Minor DVD (chump steam rolling in visual form)
Tim Hecker—Ravedeath 1972 (Key People, Blur Shit, Art School)
The band Wild Flag (Men: move to the back, put the phone down, and stop trying so hard)
Andy Stott—We Stay Together // Passed Me By (wherein Richie Hawtin meets Wolf Eyes and they burn your house down…slowly)
Byron Coley—C’est la Guerre: early writings 1978—1983 (Gather round, it’s xmas and dad’s gonna tell us about the war)
Kurt Vile—Smoke Ring For My Halo // So Outta Reach (Shroom Tea Franks, Ganja Peanut Chew, Spuds McKenzie Poster sold separately)
The comedian Eddie Pepitone (Blue Collar Life Coach, Bitter Buddah…hating the things you can’t stand to live without.)
Void—Sessions 1981—1983 (Finally)
The band Population (Nepotism. Drink it up, Gothdrips)
Peaking Lights—936 (Lovers Rock for your resin stained walkman)
True Radical Miracle—Cockroaches (reissue LP) (Watch your summer vacation go down the toilet in the other direction)
Iceage—Youth Brigade (prison tattoos, unnecessary drama, and primal urgency get every number cruncher with a live-journal way too wet.)
Swans live (your band sucked compared to this…sorry boutcha.)
Total Control—Henge Beat (imagine the guys that refer to this as “friend rock.” I want to see their lists!)
Bjork—Crystalline 12” (1 out of 10 ain’t so bad, I guess)
Psychic Paramount—Psychic Paramount II (Repeat, repeat, repeat until maximum health and efficiency)
Sandwell District–Feed-Forward (free dinner with me for whomever bootlegs the vinyl for this and/or convinces these pricks to repress it.)
Dean Whitmore (Sub Pop Records)
Bakers 10 records both new & reissued that I bought & liked a lot this year. Alphabetically: Mahmoud Ahmed – Jeguol Naw Betwa (Mississippi) Bloodloss – Lost My Head for Drink (Dirty Knobby) Broken Water – Peripheral Star (Perennial) Condiminum – Warm Home 12″ (Condominium) Cruddy – Negative World (12xU) Fungus Brains – Ron Pistos Real World (Load) L’orchestre Kanaga De Mopti – Kanaga De Mopti (Kindred Spirits) Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop) Shin Joong Hyun – Beautiful Rivers & Mountains (Light in the Attic) Sonskull – Wiped Clean (Perennial) Total Control – Henge Beat (Iron Lung)
Records from last year that hooked me this year: Hype Williams – Find Out What Happens (De Stijl) Kemialliset Ystavat – Ullakkopalo (Fonal) No Balls – Less (Who Can You Trust/Streaks)
Something that I just got & think I am going to totally love end of ’11 & beyond: Opika Pende Africa at 78 RPM Box
Other great stuff: Camping w/ Cassidy Tour w/ Uzi Rash Getting rid of cable TV. Squire Park Living in a house again / playing records late etc. Riding bike & ditching car. Sloop Tavern. 20/20 Cycle Getting to know Vancouver Lopez & Shaw Islands
Mike Venutolo-Mantovani (Matador Records)
1. Brain F≠ – Sleep Rough (Grave Mistake)
2. Crooked Fingers – Breaks In The Armor (Merge)
3. The Shrine – Featherheads 7″ (Eliminator Records)
4. Mark Sultan – Whatever I Want (In The Red)
5. Mark Sultan – Whenever I Want (In The Red)
6. Mastodon – Live At The Aragon (WBR RSD Exclusive)
7. Wild Flag – S/T (Merge)
8. Crisis Of Conformity – Fistfight In The Parking Lot 7″ (Drag City)
9. Reigning Sound – Abdication… For Your Love EP (Scion A/V)
10. Total Babes – S/T (Old Flame)
WHITE MYSTERY: Miss Alex White & Francis S.K. White
(http://www.whitemysteryband.com)
Thee Oh Sees: Carrion Crawler (In The Red)
Heavy Times: Jacker (HoZac)
Cave: Neverendless (Drag City)
Night Beats S/T (Trouble in Mind)

Joe Wetteroth (BRAIN IDEA)
1. Cave, Neverendless
2. Grateful Dead, Europe ’72 Vol. 2
3. Fucked Up, David Comes To Life
4. Heavy Times, Jacker
5. James Ferraro, Far Side Virtual
**also started collecting Dead Bootlegs so that i can fulfill my 2012 new year resolution of listening to one live Grateful Dead set a day from that particular day of the year. an idea given to me by Cooper from Cave.
Ben Scott (BRAIN IDEA)
In no particular order
James Ferraro- Far Side Virtual
Destroyer- Kaputt
Jay-Z and Kanye- Watch the throne
Cave- Neverendless
Heavy Times- Jacker
Oneohtrixpointnever- Replica
Omar S.-It can be done, but only i can do it
Tyler The Creator- Bastard
Kurt VIle- Smoke ring for my halo
Azari and III
Real Estate- Days
YES- CLOSE 2 THE EDGE
Widowspeak- S/T
Todd Curtis (Music Direct)
new stuff i listened to the most this year:
true widow – as high as… (kemado)
bats – free all monsters (flying nun)
absu – abzu (candlelight)
pj harvey – let england shake (vagrant)
seapony – go with me (hardly art)
inquisition – ominous doctrines of the perpetual mystical macrocosm (hell’s headbangers)
ice age – new brigade (dais)
violeta vil – toronjil ep (discoteca oceano)
lorelle meets the obsolete – on welfare (captcha)
chancha via circuito – rio arriba (zzk)

Pete Klockau (Bloodshot Records)
In no particular order…
THE JIM JONES REVIEW- “Burning Your House Down” (Punk Rock Blues)
“Explosive” is probably the best word to use here- it’s like if Little Richard were a demonic hellion fronting
a band of ex-convicts playing to earn back their freedom. This thing smokes… their show at Schuba’s (with
Kid Congo Powers) was pretty damned incredible, too.

DEX ROMWEBER DUO- “Is That You In The Blue” (Bloodshot)
Not to toot our own horn (though I will here), Dex & his sister Sara turn in their second phenomenal
record as the Dex Romweber Duo. I love(d) me some Flat Duo Jets… but dare I say this is (gulp)… even better?!
I dare you to listen to his version of “Brazil” and tell me this album doesn’t do anything for you.

JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND- “Want More” (Bloodshot)
A local favorite, not only local to Chicago, but local to my adopted neighborhood Uptown. Our little neighborhood that
could has been in the news for so many shitty reasons this year, it’s great to see some local boys make good.
Oh, and this record kicks 10 kinds of ass (count ’em!) Speaking of ass, if “Want More” doesn’t make
you shake yours, it must be broke.

KID CONGO POWERS- “Gorilla Rose” (In The Red)
Ex Cramp, Bad Seed, and Gun Clubber makes his third record of weirdo glammy gutter garage noir
and makes it all seem so easy to pull off. Extra props to In The Red for also releasing a limited edition LP
of Kid & his band playing live at a prom in the Southern California suburbs this year.

JACK OBLIVIAN- “Rat City” (Fat Possum)
This is Jack O’s fourth record with the Tennessee Tearjerkers, and I’ll be good god damned if they
don’t keep getting better and better. “Rat City” is every bit as gritty and sinister sounding as that title
would have you think. Who would’ve thought back when the Oblivians were kicking my high school
ass with “Soul Food” and “Popular Favorites” that (between Jack O and Greg Cartwright’s multiple and
meritus projects) they’d still be tickling my ear drums in exactly the right way 15 years later?

JERRY SUN- “Exotic Sounds” (Dionysus)
I am an admitted Exotica and Lounge junkie. Unfortunately most of the new stuff that turns up is hokey and, frankly,
awful. Thank god for Dionysus who are still out there finding exotica master tapes from the original era. Much
like last year’s Beachcomber Trio “Live at Kahiki Supper Club” LP, this one gets a special spot next to the hi fi.
JD MCPHERSON- “Signs & Signifiers” (Hi-Style)
His voice swings from Wilson Pickett to Big Sandy to everything in between. It’s timeless, with production so
authentically vintage sounding you’d swear this was some lost Hi Records or King 45 from the late 1950’s. It’s
nice to know there are still people out there able to make vintage sounds fresh again.

TONY CHRISTIE- “Now’s the Time” (Acid Jazz)
60’s British lounge singer Tony Christie was dormant for many years, but unlike Tom Jones (who returned with
an album of gospel folk songs last year), Mr. Christie stuck to what he did (does) best and made one catchy-
and-fun-as-all-shit album of vintage brassy lounge-pop. This album sounds like all the songs you like by Neil Diamond
with a healthy dose of classic Sinatra. When you go to Las Vegas and want to see a show, this is what you want to
see… or at least it’s what I want to see. The key here is that there is nothing remotely hokey or ironic about this
album- the whole package is just GOOD.

HAYES CARLL- “Kmag Yoyo” (Lost Highway)
Hayes continues to prove he’s one of the finest songwriters going these days. From open to close, the
lyrics are clever, the songwriting is tight, and it is exceedingly enjoyable throughout.

THE BLACK SWANS- “Don’t Blame the Stars” (Misra)
This record is a joy to listen to- I am biased as I have had a copy for some time now. But I am so
glad to finally see this immensely enjoyable album get released. Totally contemporary, occasionally
absurdist lyrics, but wrapped in a warm analog package that sounds like it could’ve been made this
year, or could be some lost gentle country-folk masterpiece from a bygone era.

JIM FORD- “Harlan County” reissue (Light in the Attic)
I’ve loved this record for years- so glad to see it finally get a full-on reissue. This is the absolute
funkiest white dude you will ever hear (Tony Joe White and Dennis Coffey… watch yourselves…)

YMA SUMAC- “Miracles” (Omni)
The “Incan Princess'” bizzaro rock record from the early 1970’s… Les Baxter (Exotica and soundtrack king of
the 1960’s) wrote and produced this album, adding another layer of weirdness to the proceedings.

VARIOUS ARTISTS- “Delta Swamp Rock” Vol. 1 thru 3 (Soul Jazz)
All three of these comps are excellent. The title gives you an idea of what to expect- country music from
that weird-and-awesome crossroad in the mid 1970’s where country got funky and soulful.